Packers will be big Mike McCarthy fans in Week 18, and there is a totally fair reason for that
The Green Bay Packers didn't help themselves in Week 17 with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Now, they will need help from Mike McCarthy in Week 18 to secure the sixth seed in the NFC. With their loss, the Packers fell to 11-5. On Sunday Night Football, the Washington Commanders beat the Atlanta Falcons […]
The Green Bay Packers didn't help themselves in Week 17 with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Now, they will need help from Mike McCarthy in Week 18 to secure the sixth seed in the NFC.
With their loss, the Packers fell to 11-5. On Sunday Night Football, the Washington Commanders beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 in overtime, improving to 11-5. But the Commanders have a better conference record, so they surpassed the Packers in NFC seeding.
Next week, the Packers have to beat the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field to have a chance. But they will also need a Commanders' loss.
Enter Mike McCarthy.
The former Packers head coach will lead the Dallas Cowboys against the Commanders at AT&T Stadium, and Green Bay needs the Cowboys to win to have a chance at finishing the regular season with a better record than Washington.
Even though the Cowboys are mathematically eliminated from contention, there are good reasons to be optimistic. Mike McCarthy and the entire coaching staff are fighting for their jobs, and this will be the last chance to show they deserve it. Moreover, the Cowboys won four of their last six games, including a 34-26 win over the Commanders in Week 12.
If the Packers get the sixth seed, they will face the Los Angeles Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round. If they don't, the challenge is much tougher, against the Philadelphia Eagles — and the rest of the road would probably include games against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.
It's time to root for Mike McCarthy again like in the good old times, and the Packers need him to win to have a better path for a championship.
The most likely scenario, though, is the repetition of a seventh seed scenario like it happened in 2023 — even though Green Bay has at least two extra wins in 2024.
NFL makes a final call on when the Packers and the Bears will play in Week 18
Packers backups might play a lot
